commonplace
a theme of general application
it
a set of personal beliefs
poetry
don't act like you don't speak
talkboxers
constantly connected computer creatures
turkey
♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩
0907171755
PARTH GALEN
i'm not wearing socks, i'm wearing black jeans, i'm wearing a white shirt, i'm wearing black/gray/white boxers, my bracelet is falling apart, the Lord of the Rings soundtrack is playing a tune about the breaking of the fellowship, my hair is hanging damp, i just got out of the shower, and i'm seeing Nine Inch Nails for the eighth and last time in Los Angeles this September.
but i don't care about september. right now i care about july. i saw Thee Oh Sees in San Francisco last night. you know, the guys with the best album art ever? this guy played with his guitar wayyy high up:
very weird. also weird, they played this small bar called The Eagle Tavern, which has this as the main picture on its website:
for some reason, leading up to the event i was fretting a little bit about going to what looked pretty clearly like a gay biker bar by myself (as if the bar wouldn't draw in female music fans at least for that night). whatever, i went anyway, and was pleased to see the place packed with cute girls and boys alike. grabbed a beer, moved toward the stage (because you're not awkward, even if you're by yourself, if you're staring at the band playing). within ten minutes, this girl standing next to me got me talking, and we ended up hanging out the rest of the night.
the first band (actually the third or fourth, because i didn't arrive until 11:30) was called The Fresh and Onlys. they basically just sounded like a bad version of Thee Oh Sees. after they finished up, Rose and i grabbed a couple beers, and i had her show me around the place because she had actually been there once before. it had a really cool outside extension, where we chilled out for a few minutes, bullshitting. she's from MA and confirmed for the millionth time that CA rules. she also told me that she's the youngest in her family with four older brothers and four older sisters, that her parents aren't religious, but they used to be big rastafarians. wtf?
THEN Thee Oh Sees came on and, oh my god, they rocked that little place so excellently. they played all my favorite songs (this is easy to do when you only have two albums out). ALSO, as i said to Meryl last night, a band's live performance instantly gets 5 stars when they take your favorite song and double its length. think Brother Sport, think Ruby Go Home. the space in front of the stage was tiny, but we made the best of it. i was glad that Rose was even getting all up on it. i respect a girl who can hold her own in a mess like that. moshing sweating loving pushing shoving feeling freeing greatness.
i fucking love (live) music.
0907141915
DEFINE 'ART' IN ONE TEXT MESSAGE
Art= something that furthers an appreciation of the aesthetic interest of anything and everything
everything in the universe.
Everything. Or, by proxy, nothing.
An outward expression of an inward sentiment
fart without the f, or life transferred to a medium. Sometimes both
sex. everything. fuck u!
Human expression designed for the five human senses
Me naked
Living and feeling
Anything created for the purpose or with the result of enjoyment via the senses.
Easy. Art is open speech
Time is art not money
six people answer ""
0907141426
HUNGOVER
after refusing to see The Hangover with Donni and Hannah for two whole separate weekends, i finally caved and went to see it with my mom and brothers. my expectations were bottom-of-the-sea low and Billy calling it the best comedy in forever didn't really float it any higher. but i laughed. i actually laughed. i was thrilled! pretty solidly good movie. definitely worth seeing. i still don't know if i would pay my OWN money to go see it, but yeah, it's good.
last night i hung out with Christopher Burd Quines. with the sun setting over a hazy Ocean Beach, we drove around purply in search of rhythm, finding ourselves taking the Classical route into the heart of the city, Amoeba Records. Rich had gifted me an Amoeba $13.55 credit receipt in exchange for spending ratio from one of my favorite private torrent sites on downloading Jason Moran bootlegs for him. pretty sweet exchange, but i didn't find anything to spend it on this time. i mean, i found many things i could have bought, but i just don't buy things that easily. i only think a few things are worth spending money on these days, in order of importance: food (always), music (live always, vinyl sometimes, CDs never), transportation, and drugs (which might more correctly be classified under "transportation").
tonight i'm seeing Young Prisms play a house show live in Gio's asshole, according to the bizarre pink triangle.
also, watch this:
0907131520
I DON'T JUST SAY NO, I'M TOO BUSY SAYING YEAH
a blog a day. a poem a day. yeah, right. ffvii. yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah. fantasies.
i may not be fulfilling those tasks i set out for myself at the beginning of this summer, but i've been kept busy doing other things, so i don't mind.
most notably, i actually have a job. and it's not just a stupid library jobs where i collect books and read them when no one's looking. no, for the moment (though probably not for long) i'm working for a tech startup, vator.tv, a place for other startup companies to network. all of my work takes place in the newsroom, where i and others publish tech-related articles. my specialty is social networking--Twitter, Facebook, anything social media. i'm writing two articles a day, one i write the day before so it gets published at 6am and then another in the morning to be published at 11am. it's fun, i'm not letting my writing skills die, i'm learning about the tech world, and i'm not sleeping in every day until 4pm. the highlight of my life came when i got to write about Trent Reznor. i mean, i'm getting paid to write about Trent Reznor. my high school self is imploding.
furthermore, my blog posts have been stretched thins by two new projects. the first i already mentioned here: talkboxers, a collaboration between me and my cousin chris, just an outlet for electronic emotion and digital desires. the one i haven't mentioned is a little blog called six stars, a new place for me and five of my most music-obsessed friends to share the music we love with each other and the world. talkboxers looks like it needs some posting to happen, six stars is looking good, i love blogs.
i just got back from visiting Arizona with my family (minus older brother) yesterday, just for the weekend. it makes visiting the place feel like driving to Santa Cruz, or something, the way we just picked up and lef for such a short time. it was cool seeing lots of family, swimming in a warm pool in the warm air at night, and hanging out with my grandpa. i love my grandpa. he's such a badass. he's 92 or something, lives in maybe the loneliest town in America, but doesn't seem to mind at all. all he wants to do all day is hang out with his little dog and listen to books on tape (because he can't see well enough to read anymore). it's pretty inspirational. one of my little cousins was dissing Miami, AZ pretty hard, but i said i liked it. i guess i like it because it reminds me that everything you need in the world you can find right there. mountain air, dried up creeks, antique stores, and damn good burritos. i think i've eaten something like six burritos in the past few days.
music music music music music. everywhere! all the time! all day! after getting my old room back, i set up my drum set right by the window, so that anytime anything remotely jammable comes on shuffle, i turn up the volume and swing around to the set to start banging along. last week i had fun with OK Computer, Echoes, and today, Let's Dance, by David Bowie. very simple beat, but immensely satisfying nonetheless. what else? as my mom points out daily, i am obsessed with 808s & Heartbreak. it's a damn good album, i'm sorry. still, i am secretly obsessed with Michael Jackson as much as everybody else. look at this:
- Thriller
- Beat It
- Billie Jean
can you compute that that actually appears in that order on his album Thriller? he gives us no time to breathe. it reminds me of a couple other impossible tracklistings:
from Daft Punk's Discovery
- One More Time
- Aerodynamic
- Digital Love
- Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
from Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon
- Time
- The Great Gig in the Sky
- Money
beautiful.
in other news, i have the coolest girlfriend in the world. you can only dream of being crushed like me.
0906302354
LOOK WHERE WE WORSHIP
i've given the commonplace book a much needed update. Jim Morrison has a lot to say about art, cameras, chance, city, death, everything, film, religion, sex, sleep, and the womb. but mostly he just talks about film:
The appeal of cinema lies in the fear of death.
oh yeah, Jim? a girl told me that once but i only believed her because she's beautiful. what do you have to make me believe you? a rock & roll band?
0906291803
MANIFESTED COMMUNISM
so let it be written
- Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
- A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
- Abolition of all right of inheritance.
- Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
- Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.
- Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state.
- Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into cultivation of wastelands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
- Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
- Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of the population over the country.
- Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc., etc.
so let it be done
- Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
- A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
- Abolition of all right of inheritance.
- Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
- Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.
- Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state.
- Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into cultivation of wastelands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
- Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
- Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of the population over the country.
- Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc., etc.
just kidding.
0906280502
'CAUSE I'VE GOT ONE EYE IN MY POCKET AND THE OTHER ONE IS HAILING A TAXI CAB
0906262025
LOVE LOCKDOWN
the creator of the perfect pop album died yesterday.
moving on, i'm a part of a new blog that you should check out periodically:
0906231343
THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'
things on my mind right now: Bob Dylan. revolution. Iran. evolution. iPhone. Internet. society. popularity. fame. work. play. kill. gay. freedom. parade. swimming.
you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone
yesterday, after a couple bowls, i went swimming in the heated pool at Chris' apartment complex. there's nothing like feeling like a bird for a few hours, simply flying from perch to perch, diving, swerving, colliding, riding. have you wondered what's the difference between flying and swimming?
the loser now will be later to win
one of the simplest ways to sound wise is by making extremely mundane comments, like "everyone makes mistakes" or "you've gotta do what you gotta do" or, in the most extreme, "that's the way it is." god, often credited as the wisest being in the universe, attained his glory with the stupidest (and, to this day, least challenged) statement of all: "i am what i am." however, by overstepping the bounds of redundant rationalism and restraint, stepping into the dark shadow of maniacal madness and infinite brilliance, one can stack peaks of genius incomprehensible and carve valleys of all-encompassing knowledge. all it takes is a reversal of certain mundane statements. for example, "love is the greatest human passion" becomes "love will kill us all." "i fear death" becomes "i eagerly await death." and "losers lose" becomes "losers win."
the battle outside
if you haven't noticed, the Iranian people hate their government (i'm not the only one!). after an election pretty clearly robbed by the incumbent presidency (he got more votes in some cities than their actual populations), protests have rocked the capital city of Tehran. it's been going on for almost two weeks now. they started out peaceful (and for the most part seemed to remain so) except for in instances where Iranian authorities opened fire on citizens. actually, the protests and peaceful gatherings are dying a slow death, as the government promises serious crackdowns, as family and friends continue to be injured or killed, as optimism fizzles into ashes. i'm rooting for the Iranian people, of course, and i hope (pessimistically) for the best, but mostly i pray that if ever the people around me felt wronged to the point of bursting, that we will have the power and resolve (and stamina) to take to the streets.
please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand
Google. Facebook. Twitter. Flickr. YouTube. welcome to the Internet. they may not be the giants today or tomorrow, but right now at this exact moment, they are. and you should be paying attention. your parents may be trying to understand, you should try to help them out. you might think it's really simple, but you grew up with the web getting stuck in your hair like sand after playing at the beach too long. or fuck it. ignore the older generation and wait for them to die, instead focus your energy on trying to keep up with the younger generation. but that's no use. when you were growing up, growing into your coil of flesh, the younger generation was still just atoms in the air, actually transmitting messages, they were the air and circuitry that is the internet. and now that they're alive human beings, they might have forgotten their electrical past, but it strikes their neurons a thousand times a second. they'll always be ahead of you. try your hardest to keep up, but don't make yourself unhappy doing it. if you feel yourself losing it, then let go.
the first one now will later be last
is there anyone that knows, is there anyone that cares? you pray, so you must care about something, though you may not know a thing. do you got any friends? do you have a baby? do you love because your brain pounds your brain to love? you love because your brain pounds your brain to love. you drive to the driving range because you're driven to drive to driving range. you pull water from a well through a pulley because you're pulled to the pulley to pull water from the well. shotguns shoot guns at your bleeding brain, where you once stood, but now you just think. and someone asks you, what do you stand for? and you say, i don't stand for anything, but sure do think a lot. roar the lion roars. pick the guitar picks. here's a folk song sung by Bobby Dylan himself:
0906211441
WHAT MY STOMACH DID IN LOS ANGELES
0906180858
BLACK DOG
LED ZEPPELIN
LED ZEPPELIN IV
1971
Hey hey mama, said the way you move
Gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove.
Oh oh child, way you shake that thing
Gonna make you burn, gonna make you sting.
Hey hey baby, when you walk that way
Watch your honey drip, cant keep away.
Ah yeah, ah yeah, ah, ah, ah, ah yeah, ah yeah, ah, ah, ah.
I gotta roll, cant stand still,
Got a flamin' heart, can't get my fill
Eyes that shine, burning red,
Dreams of you all through my head.
Ah ah ah ah ah ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah, ahhhhhhh...
Hey baby, oh baby, pretty baby,
Tell me what you do me now.
Hey baby, oh baby, pretty baby,
Tell me what you do me now.
Didn't take too long 'fore I found out
What people mean by "down and out."
Spent my money, took my car,
Started tellin' her friends she goin' be a star.
I don't know but I been told
A big legged woman ain't got no soul.
Ah yeah, ah yeah, ah, ah, ah, ah yeah, ah yeah, ah, ah, ah.
All I ask for when I pray,
Steady rollin' woman gonna come my way.
Need a woman gonna hold my hand
And tell me no lies, make me a happy man.
0906111428
PAELLA PLEASED AND PURPLE
that's my beautiful cousin Nadia posing before feasting on a delicious platter of paella. if you didn't know, after my various travels in Turkey, the winds thwarted my immediate plans for home, sweeping me to the Spanish sands of Barcelona. thanks to that wonderful girl and her super-friendly boyfriend, i had a really cool place to stay for a few days (while the skies cleared up), even though visitors already filled their apartments and in spite of my sudden arrival. thanks, guys.
i am home now and, jobless, not doing a whole lot. so far i've been enjoying the tastes (Mexican, Chinese, American, Italian, Vietnamese, Thai, probably more) and sounds (The Field). here are my summer plans:
- learn a new word daily
- write a poem daily
- become an English grammar expert
- beat Final Fantasy VII
- bike at least once a week
- improve HTML skills
not too ambitious, right? i also have a reading list going. i started it in Turkey, sitting in the Han's courtyard, sipping on beer with the twins. contemplating my summer, i realized that nothing would make me happier than reading as many books as i did last summer. but this time i took suggestions. Meryl immediately voted Galax-Arena, a book she's been trying to get me to read for some time. apparently it's a novel that seriously influenced her as a kid, and part of being in love is sharing all the bullshit that you're obsessed with and affected you. and we are VERY obsessive people, so we're constantly sharing things with each other. besides that, i've got Elise's vote to read as well, The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand's first major literary success. the most i know about it is that Wikipedia considers it a "philosophical novel." good enough for me. the third book on my list is my personal vote: the Qur'an. as much as i despise religion, i love religion. i read the Upanishads AND "Siddhartha" last summer, which is a whole lot of Hinduism and Buddhism. i'm pretty down to read the central religious text of Islam, especially after visiting one of the most ancient Islamic communities.
unfortunately, i haven't really gotten off to a great start. too obsessed with the internet, i guess. the only two books i've read are Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and the only reason i read those is because i was bored at airports/on planes. (by the way, those books are definitely essential reads, especially the latter, they're easy too! you have no reason not to read them). interestingly, Millie said the Alice on the front cover of my copy resembles Meryl. eh, it's just the hair. at the moment, i've had The Communist Manifesto and a book of Jim Morrison poems sitting on my desk, staring at me for the past few days.
let's see what other nonsense i can eject from my phone's notes. i wrote the following as a means of dissecting how i critique music, subconsciously:
everything starts at 0. sounds instruments lyrics intention context connection -- these things, if done to my liking, can only increase the score, but never decrease. music i say i hate i should really say i find uninteresting. those are 0s.
i believe this sprung out a discussion i had with my mom a few months ago about Dr. Dre. she said she could never listen to his music because of the distasteful lyrics--I just wanna fuck bad bitches..All them nights I never had bitches..Now I'm all up in that ass bitches...And tell your friends where the dick's at...Yeah the bitch took the whole eight...Chicken-head, chicken-fed, with a dick in your mouth...Out and about with your nigga like it never took place...Next time you need a taste--but even though i agree the lyrics can be a little fucked sometimes, i can't complain because the beats he lays down just erase everything. that's what i'm talking about. "Fuck You" is still a 5 even if it gets 0 for lyrics.
what else, what else. oh yeah, i saw this scribbled on the wall of a psyched out residence hall at Berkeley over winter break:
the answer is that you can only know the answer when you're on drugs and you have to keep doing drugs or you'll forget it
maybe. probably not, though. it intrigued me because i know what he's talking about. i just don't agree with her entirely. here are some more random thoughts from my head:
girls = flowers
beggars can't be choosers
you're going to die someday. are you ready? it doesn't mater because it's going to happen regardless. is realizing that fact the same as being ready? maybe. but does being ready mean not being afraid? not necessarily. i don't think i'll ever stop fearing death, but i'll always be ready. ready to die.
whole load of crap, right? i didn't even write the second one at all! that's just a common cliche! oh well, i guess i just really believed it when i scribbled it down into my phone. now that i've cleaned out my phone of notes and my mind of ideas, i can bring you daily ronny updates once again, clear and free.
0906041523
QOTD: HAVE YOU EVER ADMITTED, OR DO YOU NOW ADMIT, TO LOVING THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?
What?
Your query perplexes me, does this mean you're back in old glory?
Nope
Aw, so you missed us?
HAHAHAHA RONNNNY KERR ARE YOU BACK.I literally shrieked a little when i saw your name
I have never loved a country.
Who is this?
yes